And the next little group for this really interesting question is Primo’s Generation! Thank you again so much for the ask and I hope you’ll enjoy my little thoughts on these 😊
Unlike Lampo or Daemon and Elena, I don’t think Giotto was swimming in money. He wasn’t an aristocrat or noble or anything like that. He wasn’t the level of rich that seemed completely unobtainable to those around him. At least, he wasn’t at first. However, I do think he was more well-off than most of the people in his town. We see him buying things to surprise those in the town who were struggling financially without really seeming worried about doing so. I do think Giotto came from money; however, I think his wealth was more on the modest side. He was initially the level of wealthy where he could live a comfortable, but not rich, life. He wouldn’t need to work or worry about payments and such, but he would have to live more on the frugal side, without any grand parties and throwing away money and such. It wasn’t until Giotto became Vongola Primo, and it wasn’t until the Vongola took off and garnered attention from wealthy supporters, that Giotto started to accumulate quite a bit of wealth. He put almost all of that direct money, money he could use instead of money in material gifts like houses or modes of transportation or such, into making sure his Guardians and the townspeople were well taken care of, however, and I do think that his own personal wealth never really rose above the levels of being able to live a comfortable but low-key life, by Giotto’s own choice. He’s simply not a man to whom money means a great deal and he’s never been greedy when it comes to gaining more and more in terms of personal material wealth.
G., through his life, sat in the same position financially as Giotto. He wasn’t born stinking rich. He wasn’t nobility, but he grew up in that same minor family wealth category. He had enough money, even before the formation of the Vongola, to live comfortably, to not have to work, and to have property and enough to live off of. My personal headcanon is that his and Giotto’s families were very close, even neighbours, and that he and Giotto were raised together from the time they were babies, so it makes sense that the two of them are of the same financial background. G., like Giotto, even when the Vongola itself started to gain quite a bit of money, also prioritized taking care of the Guardians and the townspeople over using that financial wealth for personal means. Money never really meant much to him, but part of that is because G. never really had to worry about money. However, he was also never the type to live above his means either, so his own personal wealth lasted him throughout his life.
I do think that Asari was rich, possibly Japanese nobility. He lived more than comfortably. He had plenty of money, right from the time he was born. He was raised very, very comfortably and he never had to worry about anything growing up. He was free to live as he wanted, to pursue his hobbies, and to spend his days with his instruments. Through his own talent, he became a highly sought after musician and he gained his own personal wealth from that. However, Asari felt he had a very nice roof over his head, plenty to eat, enough to pay his house staff very generously, and like Giotto, he focused most of his money on improving the lives of those living in poverty in the area closest to him. Asari never cared much for material things. It was actually through Asari’s charitable works within his area that he and Giotto met and became friends, bonding over a shared sense of morals. Asari contributed quite a bit of his family’s wealth to the Vongola Family in the belief that with Giotto and the rest of the Guardians, that money could be used to change the world.
I do not think that Knuckle was someone who grew up rich. In fact, I think his family grew up closer to the poverty line. It was always a struggle for Knuckle and his family, growing up, to make the payment on their home, to put enough food on the table for Knuckle and his siblings, to keep clothes on the backs of all the growing children, and to make the tithe to the church. When Knuckle became old enough to become keenly aware of his own great strength and skill in boxing, he started to take boxing very seriously and he used his matches as a way to make money to help support his family. Most of his winnings from his matches were sent home to his family, though Knuckle never hesitated to share what meagre little he kept of his winnings for himself. He was definitely the kind of man who would spend his last few dollars to buy a meal or a warm winter coat for someone in desperate need, even if it meant he went without. By the time Knuckle’s boxing career was over, when the accident happened, his family was in a better place financially and most of Knuckle’s siblings had either left the family or were soon to leave to their own lives, which made him less stressed out about how to gain money. He settled into the life of a priest, which paid a pittance, but through which Knuckle found a sense of peace, comfort, and happiness. What little the priesthood did pay, Knuckle still used primarily to either send home to his family or for charity work. He lived very, very frugally when it came to himself all the way until his death.
We know from canon that Lampo was the son of nobility. He grew up rich as fuck and he doesn’t even think twice about that. He was spoiled rotten growing up, never wanting for anything, always being given anything he asked for. Because of this, Lampo never really learned the concept of money, not really. He doesn’t really get the concept and he definitely doesn’t understand the value of money. However, just because Lampo’s a bit of a spoiled, rich brat, he isn’t without heart. Though he doesn’t understand right away, when confronted with poverty, why the people don’t just use their money to help themselves, when confronted with the reality of harsh poverty and the fact that money just isn’t there for everyone, I do think Lampo is saddened, sickened, and troubled by this fact every time he gets confronted with it, and he’s generous with those he sees who need help. Lampo also puts quite a bit of his seemingly never ending amount of wealth towards the Vongola and Giotto because of his belief in Giotto to make the world a better place.
Along those same lines, we know from canon that both Elena and Daemon Spade were also born into nobility. They both come from families that are almost stinking, filthy rich. The difference between them and Lampo is that both Daemon and Elena realize their privilege acutely and both of them feel the aristocracy is lazy, greedy, and not a good institution. They both believe that all classes of people, from what we can see of the early days, deserve an equal amount of wealth, instead of one class largely hogging it all. They join with Giotto because of these beliefs and I think that, along with the others who have the money, the majority of Vongola’s early funding came from both Elena and Daemon.
Finally, we come to the last of Giotto’s Guardians…Alaude. And I will admit that this is the one that gave me the most trouble. It was a hard one to really decide on, because the truth of the matter is that the last thing in the world that I honestly see Alaude caring about is money. He just does not give a fuck about money, to be honest. It’s not a motivating factor to him. Alaude is a man, to me, who does not live lavishly no matter how much money he has. As long as he gets to do what he wants, when he wants, that is literally all this man cares about. However, thinking deeply about it, I think Alaude grew up comfortably. His family would probably be what we consider lower middle-class, where all of Alaude’s physical needs were taken care of. He inherits a decent house upon his parent’s deaths. He was fed and clothed growing up. There were things he wanted, growing up, that they simply couldn’t afford, but he never felt overly angry about it…it just motivated him to push himself to the point where he could obtain those things he wanted with his own power and by his own hands. We do know that Alaude’s skills garner him the role of head of a secret intelligence organization, at which point he is likely making a lot of money. However, he barely ever touches it. He simply doesn’t care to. Again, this man lives so frugally. He only uses his earnings and money to meet his bare necessities of life and then uses the rest only for things he wants – like to build CEDEF, for example.
